Learning Topic 6: Copyright Issues and Image Repositories

Background/Rationale:
Image creation and editing is time-consuming work. There are alternatives to creating all images from scratch. There are many image repositories – collections of images across a variety of topics. Several of these are free to use or have some form of copy-share protection. Explore the new forms of copy sharing and the repositories that offer images to support your website content.
1. Alternative Image Sources and Copy Sharing
Before launching into using premade images and media for your website, a discussion of copyright law and emerging usage or sharing trends is in order. The field of ownership and rights is in transition and the ground is shifting in some ways. There is a small war being waged by academics and legal minds trying to fight the stronghold of commercial ownership, encouraging the reuse of media to create new creative projects. It is a fascinating area to explore and contemplate how these changes will affect your teaching practice and use of media in your instruction. Having a strong understanding of the history and current developments in copyright law will put you on solid ground as you make your way through this ownership jungle. Explore copyright basics, then move on to Creative Commons licensing, fair-use practices, and finally emerging mashup and remix ideas.

2. Image Repositories
Gaining an understanding of copy-share licensing and fair use puts you in good stead to explore image repositories. Creating original images is not the only way to find quality images for your website. Using existing images is a fast and easy way to support your message without having to create or photograph your own images. There are several image repositories that supply a variety of high-quality images on different topics. Primary source materials and scientific representations are a few of the subjects found in image repositories. Finding a set of supporting images to help you teach your topic is a time-saving method to professionally communicate your message. Discovering the free image repositories is really the tip of the iceberg; there are also a variety of other media and free courseware to explore.

Learner Outcomes:
At the end of this Learning Topic, you will be able to:
· Identify concepts of copyright and how work is copyright protected from its inception. Compare the different alternative license structures of Creative Commons. Identify instances where fair use is permissible in education settings. (Project 1)
· Compare rules for using material that is copyrighted, licensed under Creative Commons, and fair-use exceptions; also, discuss emerging philosophies and trends in copy-share of creative works. (Project 1, Discussion 1)
· Explore and rank several image repositories in their quality and variety of content for website uses, and discuss the value of premade images for web communication. (Discussion 2)
· Identify and repurpose images using open source and Creative Commons images, and discuss the time and outcome differences between starting with precreated images and creating images from scratch. (Project 2)

Readings and Research:

Copyright Status Quo, Protection for Creators
"Taking the Mystery out of Copyright." Library of Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2009. http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/
. Good K-12 student reference - refer to Files on Record - Timeline of Copyright Milestones.
"U.S. Copyright Office Information circulars, fact-sheets and FLs." U.S. Copyright Office. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2009. http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
.
"U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use." U.S. Copyright Office. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
.
Explore the Emergence of Creative Commons Licensing
Lessig, L. (2007, Mar. 1). In Larry Lessig on laws that choke creativity. Retrieved n.d., from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html
(accessed November 29, 2009)
Spinello, Richard A., and Herman T. Tavani. "Chapter VII - Recent Copyright Protection Schemes: Implications for Sharing Digital Information." Intellectual Property Rights in a Networked World: Theory and Practice. IGI Global. 2005. Books24x7.
NOTE: See instructions on accessing Books24x7 in the syllabus Required Course Materials section.
"About - Creative Commons." Creative Commons. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. http://creativecommons.org/about/
. (Watch the video and look through the links on history and license)

Emerging Artists, Remixing, and Changing Form from Original
"Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) on Girl Talk and DJ Drama." YouTube. N.p., 4 Apr. 2007. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD3ndhIcbuo&feature=related
.
"Hulu - RiP! A Remix Manifesto - Watch the full feature film now." Hulu - Watch your favorites. Anytime. For free. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. http://www.hulu.com/watch/88782/rip-a-remix-manifesto
.
"YouTube- Girl Talk Creates a mashup." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. N.p., 28 Mar. 2007. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KykbPtRb0K4&feature=related
.
Trying to Make Sense of it All
Nash, Sean. "The Educational Remix - At Odds With Copyright?” nashworld. N.p., 28 Mar. 2007. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. http://nashworld.edublogs.org/2009/02/02/the-educational-remix-at-odds-with-copyright/
.
Saylor, Alison, Janni Black, and Dan Watkins. "Remix the classroom." Remix the Classroom. N.p., 19 Jan. 2008. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. http://remixtheclassroom.wikispaces.com
.
"Center for Social Media at American University." Center for Social Media at American University. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org
.
"Copyright Confusion." Copyright Confusion. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. http://copyrightconfusion.wikispaces.com/
.
Quality repository sites:
· http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
· http://merlot.org/
and http://jolt.merlot.org/

· http://www.sciencecentral.com/category/943800
· http://search.creativecommons.org/
Google image search of CC licenses images
· http://search.creativecommons.org/
· http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nmp/sonet/resources/image_repositories.htmlPhotographs
· http://www.lateralcode.com/10-useful-image-repositories/
Medical images
· http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/workshops/biomed/ppt/medicalimages.html
· http://wiki.creativecommons.org/
Content_Directories - large list, check out images but keep in mind other media that you might want to add to your site.
· http://worldimages.sjsu.edu/
· http://www.artstor.org/index.shtml


Learning Activities
Activity 1: Discussion – Copyright vs. Copy-share
Project 1: Research project - Copyright vs. Copy-share
Step 1: Using the above readings, video, and your own Internet research, create a persuasive paper or presentation on the copyright-versus-copy-share debate and history. Present which side you weigh in on. Present both sides of the copyright issue and add in your personal opinions on this topic. Predict where you see this controversy evolving in the future. Support your thesis with researched evidence and provide an APA citation of your resources. This project should be approximately five pages or 20 slides.
Step 2: Post your paper in the Discussion Forum for this activity.
Step 3: Read and provide feedback to one or more of your colleagues’ papers.

Assessment
See the Copyright vs. Copy-share Checklist for evaluation criteria.
Activity 2: Discussion 1 - Copyright vs. Copy-share
Step 1: Post your thesis statement on your support for strict copyright adherence or the move toward copy-share licensing to the Discussion Forum. Respond to both sides of the argument by playing devil’s advocate to help you and your peers thoroughly explore all sides to this topic.
Step 2: Finalize your discussion with a brief reflection (a couple of paragraphs) of what you have learned from your research and discussion and how it will affect your instruction and future web development. Share what license you will put on your WordPress website.
Step 3: Read and respond to at least one of your colleagues’ reflections.
Assessment
Refer to the Discussion Checklist in the Course Resources folder for more information on how you will be evaluated.

Activity 3: Discussion – Image Repositories
Project 2 - Image Repositories
Step 1: Use the provided repositories and/or research others on the Internet to come up with a set of five or more images to illustrate an instructional topic for your classroom website (final project).
Step 2: Write a reflection on the benefits and drawbacks of repository images.
Step 3: Post your images and reflection along with your classroom website URL to the Discussion Forum for this activity. Also place these on your classroom website.
Step 4: Read and provide constructive feedback to two or more of your colleagues.
Assessment

See the Image Repositories Checklist for evaluation criteria.


Activity 4: Discussion 2 - Repository Recommendations
“Sell” your favorite repository to the class. Pitch your sale using online presentation software such as Voicethread (http://Voicethread.com
) or Glogster (http://Glogster.com
). Present the image repository you liked the best, what elements you found useful, and why this repository met your needs.
Share the presentation link with your peers and give each other feedback on your findings. You should come away with an understanding of several different repository resources.

Assessment
Refer to the Discussion Checklist in the Course Resources folder for more information on how you will be evaluated.